Turkey seeks end to NATO patrols in Aegean Sea

With the number of migrants seeking to cross to Greece down sharply, Turkey is pressing NATO to end its naval operations in the Aegean Sea by the end of the year – a move opposed by some European allies, according to officials attending a conference of defense ministers at NATO headquarters this week.

Turkish Defense Minister Firik Isik reiterated his country’s wish to wrap up NATO’s naval mission, telling fellow ministers and senior NATO leaders at a dinner on Wednesday night that Turkey was confident it could police the Aegean with its own forces.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a news conference Thursday said the Aegean operation would continue for the time being. But the alliance and the EU will face a challenge in balancing Turkey’s demand for restored sovereignty over its territorial waters against the wishes of European countries eager to maintain tight control over the flow of migrants from Turkey to nearby Greek islands.

“The NATO presence provides operational, concrete support to the efforts of the coast guards, the Greek and Turkish coast guards, and to Frontex the European border agency,” Stoltenberg said. “We have seen a very substantial reduction in the numbers of illegal crossings.”

“The NATO presence in the Aegean adds value,” Stoltenberg said. “Many of the first sightings have been done by NATO vessels, partly because they are able to operate in both Turkish and Greek territorial waters.”

Further complicating the matter is the EU’s agreement with Turkey on the return of migrants, which was tied to a substantial aid package and other political benefits. At the start of next year, Turkey is also set to take over the rotating leadership of the NATO maritime group that conducts the operation in the Aegean.

NATO officials said other allies would almost certainly be willing to take up responsibility for the patrols in order to keep the operation underway.

At the briefing on Thursday, Stoltenberg said the alliance had also agreed to deploy naval vessels and aircraft in support of the EU’s Operation Sophia, which seeks to stop migrant crossings in the central Mediterranean.

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charlie-papa

Turkey seeks end to NATO patrols in Aegean Sea bcs they don’t want the Int’l community to know
their strategic human trafficking to flood Europe with their Isis protegee, on the other hand those pig heads want to have an open region and a free hand for their stupid Otoman expand plans order attack Greek islands.
Eventually decision taken and Nato will remain in Aegean Archipelagos.

Posted on 10/27/16 | 7:55 PM CET

trisul

Erdogan wants to send a new wave of refugees to the EU. This was probably what he offered Putin, who tried to do the same in Syria.

Posted on 10/28/16 | 12:07 PM CET

YYY

Now that the US has (air) bases in Kurdistan, NATO membership isn’t necessary anymore for the megalomaniac Turks. Soon to be another religion_of_peace_state where Magical Thinking is encouraged from the Delusional Disorder sultan Erdogan with his golden toilets in his empty and lonely palace, the sooner we end any bond with these mentally ill patients, the better.
Sometimes, it’s best to see Darwin’s Laws evolve on television.